For visual artist Sarah Williams, it's a way of helping her be visible.

The same might be true for all of the 42 Worcester area artists, organizations and educational institutions who have received a total of $86,458 in grant awards for 2013 from the Worcester Arts Council. The allocation includes two $5,000 artistic fellowships that have been given to Ms. Williams and jazz musician Jeff Galindo.

“It's extremely important for artists,” Ms. Williams said of such funding support. “Grants kind of keep them in the loop.”

The people who award the grants also take them seriously.

“It's a long process. It's a passionate process for all of us,” said Tina Zlody, chairman of the all-volunteer Worcester Arts Council. “I think being able to give monies to unfunded and underfunded organizations — it's the basis from which everything springs. Some of the most important things grow from the base. And it boosts our economy. It enables kids to pick up a violin, or learn to paint. It makes Worcester so much of a better place to live.”

The allocations include $1,500 for a Summer Music for Young People program at Burncoat Senior High School; $5,000 for the Movies on the Common 2013 summer film series; $1,500 to the Worcester Chamber Music Society for its free family concert; $2,000 to the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Mass. for Asian cultural events; $5,000 to N-CITE for “New Counter-Stories for Ideological Transformation”; $3,770 to Main South CDC for a Castle Park signage project; $3,000 to the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra for its 63rd annual summer concerts in Worcester; and $4,347 for Art in the Park 2013.

Ellen Ganley, staff administrator for the Worcester Arts Council, said there were more than 100 applicants for grants.

The WAC consists of up to nine (currently seven) members appointed by the city manager and is part of a network of 329 local cultural councils serving all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. The state Legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community.

Ms. Ganley said that “we've been fortunate that the MCC has been level-funded” the last three years. Last year, the WAC gave grant awards of $77,720 to 43 Worcester area artists. Ms. Ganley said that unused grant money from 2012 was applied to 2013, accounting for the nearly $9,000 increase.

There are two types of grants — project grants, which take up most of the money allocated, and artistic fellowships, Ms. Ganley explained.

Project grants are funded to encourage Worcester County artists or organizations with projects that are “innovative, collaborative in nature, benefit the community, reach underserved populations, and demonstrate artistic excellence.” All projects must occur within the city of Worcester within the calendar year 2013.

Ms. Zlody said: “We have very clear guidelines from the community. We try to be as generous as possible.”

Artistic fellowship grants are awarded to assist artists in developing and exploring their work outside the structure of a specific project or presentation. For example, artists could use the grant to cover time, materials, space, rental, production and other components of their ongoing work. Artists must live in Worcester.

“Worcester is one of a handful of communities that still give these out,” Ms. Ganley said of this year's two artistic fellowships.

“I was completely blown away by getting it,” said Ms. Williams. “I completely did not expect it at all. It was an amazing surprise.”

Her artwork includes sculpture, graphic design and print and has been seen in group and solo exhibitions from Worcester to San Francisco. She teaches at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, Quinsigamond Community College, and the Worcester Art Museum. Some of the grant money will likely go to developing new studio space at her home, she said.

A grant can mean that artists don't have to seek out other means of support which can take them away from their art work, she said. Having artists at work “is important for the community, too,” she said.

Ms. Zlody and her fellow WAC members were given an opportunity to see the sort of things going on in the Worcester artistic community.

“We do have a wonderful perspective to see the wonderful things that are happening out there,” Ms. Zlody said.

“There's so much going on, if you blink you're gonna miss it. I always question when someone says there's nothing going on in Worcester. There's so much happening here. It's only going to continue to grow. More than anything it's coming into its own more.”

WAC will host a reception for 2013 grant recipients in April. A complete listing of recipients can be found at www.worcestermass.org/wac.

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